


i've never fallen from quite this high (falling into your ocean eyes)

by thylionheart



Series: if my heart was a house, you'd be home [4]
Category: A Wrinkle in Time (2018), Kairos (O'Keefe) Series - Madeleine L'Engle
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kissing, Middle School, Post-Movie, Romance, Scars, aquarium date, beach date, like there's only like a smidge of angst it's 99 percent fluff, trust me this one has a LOT less angst than the others
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-20 13:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15535029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thylionheart/pseuds/thylionheart
Summary: The Murrys & Calvin take a day trip.*not a standalone*





	i've never fallen from quite this high (falling into your ocean eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> This is more of a filler fic, but hey, fluff is never unnecessary. It's also necessary to help convey and establish the passage of time in this series.
> 
> The title is from Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish.

Cars sped down the freeway past the Murry’s old Subaru. As they drove under an overpass, Calvin managed to catch a glimpse of a green sign that read: _Downtown Long Beach Aquarium_.

An audiobook of _Ender’s Game_ was playing over the AUX system for Charles Wallace, who was staring out the window watching the world pass by. In the front seat, Dr. Alex was driving while his wife sat in the passenger seat reading _The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks_. Meg was nestled against Calvin, her head resting on his shoulder and bobbing to the rhythm of the road. She had fallen asleep the moment she sat down and was now snoring quietly.

An hour earlier, Dr. Kate had picked Calvin up from his house and taken him to the Murry home for breakfast before the entire family took off for a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was a miracle that Calvin’s father had allowed him to go, even if his approval had been secured with a lie. Rather than divulge the truth—that he wanted to spend his Saturday having fun with his girlfriend and her family instead of studying for the upcoming algebra test—Calvin had told his father that his science teacher had offered the class extra credit if they went to the aquarium and wrote an essay on marine life. Even then his dad almost hadn’t granted his permission, but when Calvin told him that his friend’s family had offered to both take him and pay for the trip, he had conceded with a mildly indifferent grunt.

Meg’s parents knew that he had lied; in fact, it had been Dr. Alex’s idea, though his wife had initially disapproved. Dr. Kate knew, however, how fearful Calvin was of losing the freedom to seek out the refuge of their company, and that telling the truth would reveal the bond between him and the Murry family. So, after a short lecture about the importance of honesty—addressed to both Calvin _and_ her husband—she gave him her support.

Ender Wiggin’s voice came over the car’s AUX, speaking mournfully to his sister Valentine. _“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them—”_

The car hit a pothole and Meg’s head slipped off Calvin’s shoulder, startling her awake. She wiped at her still-heavy eyes with a moaning yawn.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” teased Calvin softly.

Burying her face in his arm, Meg grumbled and whined and tried to hide her small smile. “It’s too early to be a ‘good’ morning.”

Calvin chuckled. There was a curl snarled in her glasses, and he carefully untangled it and brushed it away from her face.

“Don’t go back to sleep, Megaparsec,” Dr. Alex called from the front seat. “We’re almost there.”

 

* * *

 

It was hard to feel sleepy when Calvin’s eyes were lit up like Rockefeller Center on Christmas Eve. As they stood in the ticketing line he bounced on the balls of his feet, a grin plastered across his face. Meg smiled.

“Welcome to the Aquarium of the Pacific,” chirped the lady behind the ticket counter, her voice cheerful though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “How many?”

Meg’s dad started digging his wallet out of his back pocket. “Four adult tickets, one child.”

The attendant handed him the tickets with that same plastic smile, and as they walked away from the booth her dad passed them out.

“Now,” Meg’s mom began, “You three stick together, alright? Meg, is your ringer on? Good. We’ll meet you back in the main hall in three hours. Have fun, you guys.”

Charles Wallace let out an enthusiastic, “Yes!” and grabbed Calvin’s hand. He took off toward the entrance with the older boy in tow.

“Hey, wait for me!” Meg called, and, with a glance at her parents, ran after the boys.

The lobby was beautiful. Above them hung a life-sized model of a blue whale, and the lights cast watery shadows across the floor. Calvin hefted Charles Wallace onto his shoulders, and together the three of them began the aquarium tour.

They walked from tank to tank, admiring the various sea creatures. Calvin chattered almost nonstop and excitedly spouted fact after fact about marine life. Some of what he said Meg already knew from class or late night TV, but it was so endearing to watch him talk with such passion about something he loved that she didn’t mind at all. They were halfway through the aquarium when Meg realized she had spent most of her time looking at Calvin’s shining smile rather than the exhibits. 

Together the three of them sat at the edge of the tide pool exhibit. Charles Wallace started petting an anemone while Calvin reached down and brushed his fingers against the arm of a starfish. He smiled, and Meg couldn’t help but match it.

“Starfish are so cool,” said Calvin absentmindedly. “They can regenerate their limbs if they lose one.”

“Really?” Meg hadn’t known that. She squinted at the starfish and tried to imagine it regrowing an arm. It sounded painful.

Calvin dried his hand on his jeans and offered it to Meg. “C’mere.”

When she gave him her hand, he dipped it in the water and placed it on the starfish. Its skin was bumpy and harder than Meg had expected. She ran her finger along each limb, then squeaked and jerked her hand back when it began to squirm. Calvin laughed; she stuck out her tongue at him and flicked water in his face, which only made him laugh harder.

After the tide pool, they moved on to the jellyfish exhibit. The room was dimly lit and the tanks were illuminated by oscillating, multicolored lights. Behind the glass the jellyfish drifted lazily, their tendrils floating in the water like ribbons.

“Wow,” whispered Meg, “Beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Calvin agreed, but when Meg glanced at him she saw he wasn’t looking at the jellyfish, and was instead watching her with soft eyes.

Heat flushed Meg’s cheeks and she pushed him away shyly. “Stop it.”

“Sorry,” he murmured, but the smile he gave her was anything but apologetic. His hand found hers and he pulled her close. The lights from the tanks cast a blue, then green, then violet glow across his skin. Her hair was up in a messy bun, so he played with a loose curl at the nape of her neck, his touch warm against her skin. Meg lost herself in his eyes and, in the moment, both forgot where they were and began leaning in for a kiss.

“Really, guys?” Charles Wallace’s voice said behind them. “You two are so embarrassing.”

They startled apart, red-faced. Calvin scratched the back of his neck and let out a sheepish laugh, but he didn’t let go of Meg’s hand.

“Sorry.”

 

* * *

 

Three hours passed by quickly, and afterward the kids met up with Meg’s parents in the lobby gift shop. The shop was bright and airy, with tall ceilings and large displays filled with books, mugs, shirts, and an assortment of plushies. Charles Wallace started admiring hand-blown glass figurines while his parents perused the book section and Meg sorted through some shirts.

After a few minutes, Meg turned to show Calvin a funny shirt and saw that he was across the room at a table filled with plushes. Folding the shirt over her arm, Meg walked over to join him. 

He didn’t notice her walk up; his focus was on a stuffed otter holding an orange starfish between its paws. Calvin wore a small smile and he pet the top of the plush’s head affectionately.

“You should get it,” said Meg.

“What?” Calvin’s hand fell to his side.

“Yeah, why not?”

He looked oddly perplexed by her suggestion. Shooting a glance at her family, Calvin asked, “Won’t your parents think it’s…y’know, a wasteful purchase? I mean, it’d be a bit childish of me to buy a stuffed animal, wouldn’t it?”

His words sounded scripted. Conditioned. Meg frowned.

She understood how a kid their age might want to appear grown up and reject “childish” things—heaven knows she’d be absolutely humiliated if Veronica Kiley and her clique found out she still sometimes played with the old dollhouse in her attic. But even her mother had some stuffed animals in her room, gifts from Meg’s father for Valentine’s Day, and by the way Calvin was looking at the otter, it was clear that he truly did want it.

Meg picked up the otter and gave it to Calvin, then wrapped her hands over his. “Not at all.”

Calvin let out a short, bemused laugh, a crease forming between his brow. Meg wanted to stand on her tiptoes and kiss it. Then, his smile faltered and he cleared his throat.

“I shouldn’t.”

“Why—?”

But he had already placed the toy back on the shelf and was moving past her to join Charles Wallace by the table of picture books. Meg sighed. 

An idea began formulating in the back of her mind; she glanced at Calvin to make sure his attention was elsewhere, then grabbed the otter and went straight to the checkout counter.

 

* * *

 

After leaving the aquarium, they drove for thirty minutes to Huntington Beach. Meg’s mom had packed sandwiches for lunch, and once they set up their beach umbrella and laid down towels they all sat down and had a picnic. Seagulls flew lazily in the sky above and the rumble of the waves blended with the chatter of the other beach-goers.

Charles Wallace finished first and dragged his dad down near the water to build a sand castle. Meticulously they began constructing not only a castle, but a curtain wall with turrets as well. Their dad was smiling and praising his son’s design skills, a sight which filled Meg with a light happiness. Her mom watched them adoringly and joined them as soon as she finished her sandwich, leaving Meg and Calvin alone.

Even beneath the umbrella, Meg could feel the steady scorch of the sun, broken only by the occasional cool breeze sweeping in from across the water. She had changed into her swimsuit—a yellow tankini—to beat the heat. Calvin had also changed into his red swim trunks, but, oddly enough, he still wore his shirt. Sweat beaded his brow and rimmed his shirt’s collar, and yet he didn’t take it off.

“Aren’t you hot?” asked Meg, though the answer was obvious.

Calvin saw that she was looking at his shirt and pulled his knees up close to his chest in an almost self-conscious fashion. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Meg almost didn’t see his hand briefly flutter to his stomach; when she did, she understood.

“Oh. Your scar.”

In lieu of a reply, Calvin fell back onto the towel with a sigh and closed his eyes.

The scar on his cheek had faded into a thin white line, practically invisible thanks to the anti-scar cream Meg’s mother had given him. But that cut had been small, and quicker to heal; Meg hadn’t seen the wound on his stomach since the last time she helped him bandage it up.

Meg laid on her side next to Calvin and propped herself up with her elbow. His nose twitched, but his eyes stayed closed. Slowly, Meg reached over to lift the hem of his shirt. Before she could touch the blue fabric, however, his hand caught her wrist. She glanced at his face and saw that he was watching her.

A few seconds ticked by. Then, Calvin sighed again and dropped her hand. He tugged his shirt up to uncover his stomach and Meg sucked in a quick breath. The scar was thick and pink, and far more prominent than the one on his face. It stretched in a jagged fashion from an inch above his bellybutton to directly below his bottom right rib. Meg hesitantly brushed her fingers along his scar and felt it rise and fall across his skin. Despite the heat, Calvin shivered. 

“Does it still hurt?”

“No. Well…yeah, sometimes. It’s not a big deal.”

“Has anyone at school seen it?”

“Uh, Jaime saw it in the locker room once. He waited until we were alone to ask me about it, thankfully, and when he did I just told him I was cleaning my garage and fell off a ladder into a pile of junk.”

Meg arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I didn’t think it was that great of an excuse either, but he seemed to buy it. I think. At least, he didn’t bring it up again, and as far as I know, he hasn’t told anyone. But I…I don’t want anyone else to see it.” His voice dropped low, and he pulled his shirt back down. “It’s mortifying.”

“Cal...” Meg didn’t know how to respond. Before she could work her feelings into words, Calvin sat upright and forced a smile.

“Hey, let’s go look for shells.” His voice held a tight cheerfulness that might’ve fooled a stranger or mere acquaintance, but not Meg. He seemed quite determined to drop the subject, however, and so she decided to play along.

Right as Calvin started to stand, Meg remembered her surprise and grabbed his hand.

“Oh, wait, I nearly forgot. I got you something.” Meg dug a gift bag out of the beach tote and handed it to him. 

Calvin opened it slowly. A soft, surprised chuckle curved his mouth and he took the otter out of the bag. His smile was earnest, but when he looked up Meg frowned at the sadness in his eyes.

He noticed her wilt and quickly touched her arm. “Hey, no, I love it. I really do, Meg. It’s just…” Calvin sighed. “I’m gonna have to hide it from my parents.”

“Why?”

“I’ve…never really been allowed to have any stuffed animals. I mean, my mom doesn’t care, but my dad used to always say that they were only for girls and babies. This one time, when I was nine, I went to a carnival with some friends and won this big, plush bear. It had a huge red bow around its neck, like it was a present. I was so proud of myself, I didn’t let go of it for the rest of the day. Until I got home, and my dad saw it. He ripped it away from me and threw it in the trash, and then he called me a pansy and yelled at me for wasting my money. I cried for hours after.”

Meg placed a hand on his knee. Her eyes were filled with pity, but her lips were pursed tightly and he could tell she was fighting to hold back a burst of anger. He covered her hand with his own.

“I’m just afraid of losing this, especially now that it’s a gift from you. That makes it even more special, and even more devastating if my dad finds it and throws it out.”

“Do you wanna keep it at my house?”

“Honestly? No. I mean,” Calvin looked down at the toy and fingered the orange starfish thoughtfully. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious, but I wanna be able to treasure this every day. It’s...it’s worth the risk. Thank you, Meg. I do love it.”

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, then wrapped his arm around her in a half-hug. Meg relaxed into his embrace with a sigh and smiled against his shoulder.

After putting the otter back in the tote, they stood and walked down to the water, hand in hand.

 

* * *

 

“Hey! What are you—Calvin!”

Meg swatted at his chest while he smiled. They had been standing ankle-deep in the ocean looking for seashells when Calvin suddenly swept Meg up into his arms bridal-style and began walking farther out into the water.

Even as Meg squirmed, her voice lilted with laughter. “You dork, lemme go! Cal!” 

When the water was up to Calvin’s hips, he stopped and smirked down at her. “What were you saying?”

“I said let me go—Ahh!” Meg shrieked as Calvin dropped her into the ocean. She lurched back to her feet immediately, her glasses speckled with water droplets and her fringe sticking to her forehead. “Calvin O’Keefe!”

He laughed. Then it was his turn to shout in surprise as Meg tackled him back into the water. They broke the surface at the same time, coughing and grinning. But when Meg blinked away the sting of saltwater, she realized the world around her was a blur.

“Crap! My glasses!”

In an instant, Calvin ducked underwater while Meg began floundering around blindly for her glasses. Panic started rising in her chest. What if they got swept out to sea? Or she stepped on them and broke them? Or what if—

“I got them!” Calvin burst out of the water behind her, glasses in hand. “I got ‘em, Meg.”

She sighed with relief and put them back on with a word of thanks. 

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Cal.”

“I mean, I started it.”

“And I finished it,” said Meg smugly. Even standing hip-deep in the ocean, she hadn’t been sure if throwing herself at him would knock him over or if he’d stand firm and she’d end up looking silly.  But she had caught him off guard, and now his shirt was clinging to his skin and his eyes were as blue and shimmering as the water around them and he looked so _good_ , and Meg couldn’t help but wonder if his lips would taste like the ocean.

So she fisted her hands in his shirt and pulled him down into a kiss. Arms curled around her waist and Calvin drew her flush against him, eagerly kissing her back. Half of her hair had fallen out of its bun and he tangled his fingers in her curls. Meg giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

“You taste like salt.”

“So do you. Now shush. I can’t kiss you when you’re talking.”

“You started it.”

“Then finish it.”

 

* * *

 

By the time they got back to shore, the sun was hanging low on the horizon. Calvin’s swimsuit pockets were full of shells, and together they sat under the umbrella and sorted through their collection. All the sea glass sat on Meg’s side of the towel, alongside some clam and cockle shells, while Calvin’s pile consisted mostly of abalone and spiral shells—of the genus _Turritella_ , if he remembered correctly. 

“I have this shoebox at the top of my closet,” Calvin told Meg, “full of all the shells I’ve collected over the years. I started filling it when I was six.”

Meg picked up a piece of green sea glass and studied it between her fingers. “I’ve never really collected shells, but I have some sea glass on my windowsill. I like the way the sun shines through it, all soft and hazy.”

Calvin gathered the shells and put them into two of the extra ziplock bags Dr. Kate had stuffed into the beach tote, then laid down across the towel and let the small patch of sunlight that snuck past the protection of the umbrella dry his hair and skin.

A couple minutes later Meg combed her fingers through his hair and said, “Cal, I’m gonna go help Charles Wallace with his sandcastle, okay?”

“Mmm, ‘kay,” mumbled Calvin, his eyes closed and voice drowsy. “Have fun.”

She gave him a soft, slow kiss, then left.

The warmth of the sun slowly lulled Calvin to sleep; an indeterminate amount of time passed before he felt someone shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and saw Meg hovering over him, smiling gently.

“Hey, sleepyhead. It’s time to go.”

Sitting up with a groggy groan, Calvin looked around and saw that her parents had already taken the umbrella and most of their stuff back to the car. The sun had sunk partway into the ocean and colored the waves red.

Before they left Huntington Beach, Dr. Kate insisted they take pictures. A polite stranger offered to take photos of the entire group whilst Dr. Alex took the rest and promised to send them to everyone after dinner. They all changed out of their beach clothes and then took off to find a bite to eat.

 

* * *

 

Two hours later, Calvin laid in bed, idly playing a game on his phone. He was just about to finish the level when he got a text from Dr. Alex. Immediately he exited out of the game, excited to see all the pictures from that evening. Calvin saved them to his camera roll and scrolled through the new album until landing on a photo of himself and Meg, standing against the ocean and backlit by the sunset. Dr. Alex had managed to snag the perfect shot, right as Calvin had swooped down to kiss Meg’s cheek. In the photo, Meg was squirming in his arms and pushing him away with a laugh while Calvin smiled against her cheek. The setting sun lit Calvin’s hair on fire and Meg’s skin shone a deep gold.

His heart swelled as he looked at the photo. A wide smile split his face and he couldn’t help but giggle, feeling downright giddy. Calvin texted the picture to Meg, even though he knew her dad had probably already sent it to her.

_You look beautiful_ , he said in his text, followed by a string of sappy emojis. Only a minute passed before his phone buzzed.

_shut up_ , replied Meg. Calvin could almost see her both rolling her eyes and biting back a smile. Then his phone buzzed again.

_thanks…you look beautiful too_

Calvin buried his face in his pillow, grinning like an idiot. He sent her a heart, and she responded in kind almost immediately.

That night, Calvin fell asleep hugging a soft, plush otter in his arms, dreaming of deep brown eyes and a laughing smile and the irresistible taste of the ocean.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! ♥︎


End file.
